X Flags Coming Algorithm Update to Focus on Entertaining Content

This seems like a shift in direction from Elon Musk.

After constantly posting about the impending collapse of society, the harms of gender affirmation, the looming dangers of multiculturalism and, indeed, the foreseeable end of life as we know it. After sharing every observation he made about the ills of modern life more than 50 times a day for the past two years, Elon now says he wants more positivity on the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Yes, for all of you looking to build an audience on Xu, there is an algorithm update coming, which will put more focus on “informative/entertaining” content.

This comes after Musk last week asked users to post more positive content on the app.

Although, again, Musk is clearly not listening to his own advice, which he continues to write about UK rape gangsand people he doesn’t like within the Republican Partywhile also focusing attention on certain individuals that his fans might attack.

Which, given that he’s most followed on Xu, causes more ferocity on the app, although it is also locked his comments on the post so only paying users can reply to his posts.

So he’s contributing in a way, I guess.

The marked algorithm update actually sounds very similar to the changes Meta has made to their systems, which are reduced range of “political” contentin response, it says, to user feedback. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted back in 2021 that the most common complaints from Facebook and IG users are about political posts that are divisive and take over the in-app experience, prompting Met to review this element.

The target has also been repeatedly trolled in the media for its political influence, which has even led to it having to front congress to answer for such. As a result, the Meta decided to move away from politics entirely in favor of more lighthearted, fun content, primarily via Reels.

This approach stems from TikTok, which showed that social platforms can maximize user engagement by giving people more and more content based on their interests, and that you don’t really need direct comments and explicit engagement to increase revenue. TikTok’s approach is driven by its all-powerful feed algorithm, which uses entity detection in each clip to show people more of what they like, prioritizing entertainment over engagement.

And now Meta has moved in that direction, highlighting fun, entertaining videos that keep people in its apps longer. What resulted significant uptime gains in your applications.

So clearly it’s working, and now Musk is apparently banking on the same, with the X possibly being able to boost user activity if it can expose more users to more entertaining video clips in the stream.

Which makes sense, however much of the engagement gains on other apps actually come from videos posted by profiles users don’t follow that are inserted into their feeds defined by the “For You” algorithm.

X instead enables a default “Following” feed, which is better for users because it gives them more choice. But it also means they won’t spend as much time in the app, unless you force them into the “For You” stream.

Which is another change I predict will be on the cards at X HQ, as it looks for ways to increase engagement in the app, especially around video content.

But really, the change isn’t a surprise, given that every other social app looks the same way, although it’s interesting that Elon, who used X to foment division and angst to further his own ambitions, is now looking to move against it.

I mean, he clearly has no intention of changing his own approach to publishing as a result, and that will be another angle to watch, as his personal influence on the app remains so strong that it will be interesting to see how these two approaches align or not in practice.

In any case, if you want to maximize your X performance in 2025, it might be worth looking for more positive and/or entertaining video content, in line with X’s “video first” positive content shift.

Elon says that the algorithm has not been changed yet, and the update will be detailed via X Engineering team handle.